Machiavelli
11-11-2009, 06:16
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/PikemenTitle.jpg
Pikemen can be very effective offensively in vanilla, so much so that they can become unstoppable if used properly… I’ve posted a lot of this here before, but it didn't seem to change the overriding opinion that the only thing pikemen are good for is defending bridges and city gates.
After heavy exploration and playtesting into the subject, I’ve come to the conclusion that the vast majority of Medieval 2 generals are guilty of overlooking one of the most dominant weapons of Renaissance Europe. I’m referring, of course, to the humble pike, originally developed and employed by the Macedonians (notably Alexander the Great), and which ultimately fell out of favor during the era of the Roman Imperium. Because of the manner in which pikemen were implemented in Medieval 2, many generals have pushed the pike formation into a defensive corner, preferring to reserve the offensive role of their militaries for tried-and-true heavy infantry, swordsmen, and spearmen. What these generals fail to realize (and until recently, I myself was guilty of the same crime) is that pikemen be deployed in an offensive manner with the potential to dominate the late period battlefield.
So put down your modding tools, because with a little help from a friendly General and an examination into historical tactics, I’m going to show you how to build and exploit a pike-centric army with vanilla soldiers (and hopefully, in the process, redeem my own previous, irrational scorn of medieval pike).
Pikemen and the Pike Square
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/alatriste5.jpg
Historical Significance: Developed by the Swiss Confederacy during the 15th century, the Pike Square breathed new life into an ancient method of combat unseen since the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. As a direct descendant of the Macedonian Phalanx that conquered half the known world, the Pike Square was “rediscovered” by Swiss mercenaries in an attempt to counter the feudal status quo of cavalry-centric armies. It can be inferred, therefore, that deployment of the Swiss Pike at the Battle of Nancy in 1477 marked the transition between Feudal to Renaissance forms of armed combat, establishing pike-equipped infantry (instead of heavy cavalry) as the primary fighting arm of the European Theatre. This battlefield dominance of the resurgent pike phalanx was to last throughout much of the Renaissance, until its eventual replacement by the bayonet in the late17th century.
Battlefield Deployment: Pikemen are the most synergistically-dependent of all available unit classes, and should never be employed alone on the battlefield. Pikes achieve synergy with other, overlapping units of pikemen in double-stacked square formations (refer to my discussion of the Pike Square) or Heavy Infantry (as examined in the Tercio).
With their mode properly set you need to use pikes in conjunction with other units. For example, you can use dismounted knights as your front line and charge them in, then take your pikes and tell them to attack the same units your dismounted knights are fighting. They will move up and start using their pikes between the dismounted knights effectively doubling your offensive power.
The classic pike square formation is the indirect descendant to the Macedonian Phalanx, and involves two units of pikemen, each of them three to four rows deep, operating in a combined, staggered formation.
3 to 4 rows is optimal. If you make the formation too deep it will get flanked easily and too shallow and infantry can break through.
These two units of pikemen are mutually complementary, and must be employed in conjunction for the greatest benefits. It is recommended that one of these two pikemen units must consist of professional soldiers (such as the Tercio), deployed slightly in front of a unit of pike militia acting in support of the professional pikemen.
I'll use Scotland for example. Your strongest pikemen are in the front line with the weaker pikemen behind, so highland pikes front line and Scots pike militia in back. You don't want any pikemen fighting alone, they all must have at least a second unit of pikemen behind.
The Pike Square is most easily employed defensively in various choke points such as city streets and bridges (where it cannot be outflanked), but Generals experienced enough to micromanage their pikemen will find flat, open terrain favors the offensive killing power of the double-stacked pike phalanx. Marching Pike Squares downhill will permit enemy units to slip under the rows of pikes, and uphill battles usually favor heavy infantry. Thus, Pike Square Generals should avoid elevated terrain whenever possible.
Tactical Usage: Professional pikemen are expected to engage the enemy first, no matter what the situation. If initially deployed to intercept charging enemies (particularly cavalry) with guard mode on, guard mode must immediately be disabled the moment the enemy make contact with the front rank of pikes. Pike militia should then be marched forward through the rear ranks to support the professional pikemen, either by issuing attack or move orders to an area directly behind the engaged enemy unit (which guarantees that the militia march through the professional pikemen into range of the enemy). Pikes, after all, have the longest close combat weapon reach in the game, and screening militia pikemen with professional pike soldiers allows the weaker militia to exploit the reach of their weapons while simultaneously avoiding enemy contact.
Generals using the Pike Square should favor light infantry, static heavy infantry, and cavalry as offensive targets for his pikemen. Pikes have a tendency to scissor their way through lightly-armored units, and heavy infantry holding a fixed position are likewise vulnerable to the awesome killing power of the double-stacked pike formation. If the enemy allows your slow-moving pikemen to come into range of his cavalry, punish him accordingly: Pikemen make logical cavalry-killers because of the combat bonuses they receive, and the pike square is flexible enough to deter cavalry charges from any direction.
Other advantages to this are it's impossible to rear charge the formation with cavalry. If you see them coming around you can just take one of your double stacked pikemen and tell it to attack the charging cav. That's the end of that cav, go back to fighting in the front.
Notable Vulnerabilities: Pike Squares are ultimately vulnerable to powerful heavy infantry charges performed. Shock infantry such as the Varangian Guard and Venetian Heavy Infantry are capable of smashing into the front ranks of Pike Squares, especially when flanking from the side or rear of the formation. Heavy infantry are also capable of an anti-pike tactic known as “weapon heckling”: if heavy infantry manage to run the gauntlet of pikes and arrive within striking distance of the front ranks, pikemen closest to the threat can no longer exploit the reach of their pikes and are forced to engage with their swords (which forces pikemen to fight on the enemy’s terms). This undesirable situation can be remedied through several methods, including toggling guard mode and spear wall, or issuing halt orders to the engaged pike units:
There are other tricks with pikemen, like if many of your pikemen are falling out of formation and dropping their pikes, just click stop, wait a second and then tell them to attack again. This resets them and they all pull their pikes out again.
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/Jamestown_Pikemen_by_WestytheTravel.jpg
On Pike Militia: These form the primary foundation for every pike square and are absolutely indispensible for their utility-per-florin. Pike militia are available to nine factions, including France, the Holy Roman Empire, Milan, the Papal States, Portugal, Sicily, Scotland, Spain, and Venice. Two units of pike militia can be used to form a slightly weaker variant of the pike square vulnerable to morale effects, but when supported by units like the Carroccio Standard of the Italian States, can hold their own.
I pretty much only play multiplayer, so cost is a big deciding factor in what units I use. With pikes I find the cheaper the better. This has several advantages, one of which being that it saves a lot of money for cavalry and other upgrades but doesn't sacrifice the quality of your troops. Elite pikes are better than pike militia of course, but if you use the double line method the difference isn't so big.
On Cost-Effective Unique Pikemen: Consisting of professional soldiers, these are traditionally deployed directly in front of pike militia to take advantage of their superior morale and survivability.
So, in short, the pikemen I use and find to be cost effective are Flemmish pikemen, highland pikemen, Tericos/Lanskenckt (the same), pike militia, scots pike militia, and regular pikemen.
On Elite Pikemen: While extremely powerful, elite pikemen such as the Aventuros carry a hefty price tag and are substitutable for the cheaper professional variants identified above. In campaign games where cost is not a factor, elite pikemen can be used to great effect, but should be considered “soldiers of luxury”.
I don't generally use Aventuros, Swiss pikemen, or the Armored scottish pikemen. These are in fact the best pikemen in the game, but I just don't find them to be cost effective in 10k multiplayer games
On Spear Wall: Generally, spear wall should be switched on at all times. The exception to this rule occurs when battlefield conditions demand immediate battlefield redeployment:
Even though pikes walk pretty fast in spear wall, I'd switch it off if you really need to run. Sometimes if I'm charging a fortified position will switch off spearwall and run them until I'm almost on top of them and then switch it back on and attack. It's good if you want to close and not get hit by too many arrows.
On Guard Mode: Unlike other units, toggling guard mode on and off severely changes the behavior of pikemen formations. When switched on, guard mode forces pikemen to brace in a defensive manner, primarily to intercept cavalry charges and fix enemy units in place. While pikemen in guard mode will cause little or no casualties to the enemies they pin in place, they will likewise take fewer casualties and can be used in conjunction with cavalry to perform hammer-and-anvil maneuvers, or to hold enemy units in place for a pointblank volley of gunpowder (which is discussed in the Pike-and-Shot segment of the guide).
However, be warned that pikemen in guard mode tend to draw their swords when engaged in melee combat:
First of all, since we're talking about their offensive usage, you'll want spear wall on and guard mode off. Guard mode is what makes them go into "brace" formation, but it also causes them to move more slowly and they pretty much drop their pikes right away in melee.
Guard mode, therefore, should be switched off when using pikemen to engage enemy units offensively, and switched on when defense is the name of the game.
Final Notes: The Pike Square can form the core of an extremely flexible Renaissance military, capable of both offensive and defensive use against personnel and cavalry when utilized effectively. Additional variants on the pike square involve technological advancements of late period European armies, and are discussed below.
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/alatriste6.jpg
Pikemen can be very effective offensively in vanilla, so much so that they can become unstoppable if used properly… I’ve posted a lot of this here before, but it didn't seem to change the overriding opinion that the only thing pikemen are good for is defending bridges and city gates.
After heavy exploration and playtesting into the subject, I’ve come to the conclusion that the vast majority of Medieval 2 generals are guilty of overlooking one of the most dominant weapons of Renaissance Europe. I’m referring, of course, to the humble pike, originally developed and employed by the Macedonians (notably Alexander the Great), and which ultimately fell out of favor during the era of the Roman Imperium. Because of the manner in which pikemen were implemented in Medieval 2, many generals have pushed the pike formation into a defensive corner, preferring to reserve the offensive role of their militaries for tried-and-true heavy infantry, swordsmen, and spearmen. What these generals fail to realize (and until recently, I myself was guilty of the same crime) is that pikemen be deployed in an offensive manner with the potential to dominate the late period battlefield.
So put down your modding tools, because with a little help from a friendly General and an examination into historical tactics, I’m going to show you how to build and exploit a pike-centric army with vanilla soldiers (and hopefully, in the process, redeem my own previous, irrational scorn of medieval pike).
Pikemen and the Pike Square
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/alatriste5.jpg
Historical Significance: Developed by the Swiss Confederacy during the 15th century, the Pike Square breathed new life into an ancient method of combat unseen since the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. As a direct descendant of the Macedonian Phalanx that conquered half the known world, the Pike Square was “rediscovered” by Swiss mercenaries in an attempt to counter the feudal status quo of cavalry-centric armies. It can be inferred, therefore, that deployment of the Swiss Pike at the Battle of Nancy in 1477 marked the transition between Feudal to Renaissance forms of armed combat, establishing pike-equipped infantry (instead of heavy cavalry) as the primary fighting arm of the European Theatre. This battlefield dominance of the resurgent pike phalanx was to last throughout much of the Renaissance, until its eventual replacement by the bayonet in the late17th century.
Battlefield Deployment: Pikemen are the most synergistically-dependent of all available unit classes, and should never be employed alone on the battlefield. Pikes achieve synergy with other, overlapping units of pikemen in double-stacked square formations (refer to my discussion of the Pike Square) or Heavy Infantry (as examined in the Tercio).
With their mode properly set you need to use pikes in conjunction with other units. For example, you can use dismounted knights as your front line and charge them in, then take your pikes and tell them to attack the same units your dismounted knights are fighting. They will move up and start using their pikes between the dismounted knights effectively doubling your offensive power.
The classic pike square formation is the indirect descendant to the Macedonian Phalanx, and involves two units of pikemen, each of them three to four rows deep, operating in a combined, staggered formation.
3 to 4 rows is optimal. If you make the formation too deep it will get flanked easily and too shallow and infantry can break through.
These two units of pikemen are mutually complementary, and must be employed in conjunction for the greatest benefits. It is recommended that one of these two pikemen units must consist of professional soldiers (such as the Tercio), deployed slightly in front of a unit of pike militia acting in support of the professional pikemen.
I'll use Scotland for example. Your strongest pikemen are in the front line with the weaker pikemen behind, so highland pikes front line and Scots pike militia in back. You don't want any pikemen fighting alone, they all must have at least a second unit of pikemen behind.
The Pike Square is most easily employed defensively in various choke points such as city streets and bridges (where it cannot be outflanked), but Generals experienced enough to micromanage their pikemen will find flat, open terrain favors the offensive killing power of the double-stacked pike phalanx. Marching Pike Squares downhill will permit enemy units to slip under the rows of pikes, and uphill battles usually favor heavy infantry. Thus, Pike Square Generals should avoid elevated terrain whenever possible.
Tactical Usage: Professional pikemen are expected to engage the enemy first, no matter what the situation. If initially deployed to intercept charging enemies (particularly cavalry) with guard mode on, guard mode must immediately be disabled the moment the enemy make contact with the front rank of pikes. Pike militia should then be marched forward through the rear ranks to support the professional pikemen, either by issuing attack or move orders to an area directly behind the engaged enemy unit (which guarantees that the militia march through the professional pikemen into range of the enemy). Pikes, after all, have the longest close combat weapon reach in the game, and screening militia pikemen with professional pike soldiers allows the weaker militia to exploit the reach of their weapons while simultaneously avoiding enemy contact.
Generals using the Pike Square should favor light infantry, static heavy infantry, and cavalry as offensive targets for his pikemen. Pikes have a tendency to scissor their way through lightly-armored units, and heavy infantry holding a fixed position are likewise vulnerable to the awesome killing power of the double-stacked pike formation. If the enemy allows your slow-moving pikemen to come into range of his cavalry, punish him accordingly: Pikemen make logical cavalry-killers because of the combat bonuses they receive, and the pike square is flexible enough to deter cavalry charges from any direction.
Other advantages to this are it's impossible to rear charge the formation with cavalry. If you see them coming around you can just take one of your double stacked pikemen and tell it to attack the charging cav. That's the end of that cav, go back to fighting in the front.
Notable Vulnerabilities: Pike Squares are ultimately vulnerable to powerful heavy infantry charges performed. Shock infantry such as the Varangian Guard and Venetian Heavy Infantry are capable of smashing into the front ranks of Pike Squares, especially when flanking from the side or rear of the formation. Heavy infantry are also capable of an anti-pike tactic known as “weapon heckling”: if heavy infantry manage to run the gauntlet of pikes and arrive within striking distance of the front ranks, pikemen closest to the threat can no longer exploit the reach of their pikes and are forced to engage with their swords (which forces pikemen to fight on the enemy’s terms). This undesirable situation can be remedied through several methods, including toggling guard mode and spear wall, or issuing halt orders to the engaged pike units:
There are other tricks with pikemen, like if many of your pikemen are falling out of formation and dropping their pikes, just click stop, wait a second and then tell them to attack again. This resets them and they all pull their pikes out again.
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/Jamestown_Pikemen_by_WestytheTravel.jpg
On Pike Militia: These form the primary foundation for every pike square and are absolutely indispensible for their utility-per-florin. Pike militia are available to nine factions, including France, the Holy Roman Empire, Milan, the Papal States, Portugal, Sicily, Scotland, Spain, and Venice. Two units of pike militia can be used to form a slightly weaker variant of the pike square vulnerable to morale effects, but when supported by units like the Carroccio Standard of the Italian States, can hold their own.
I pretty much only play multiplayer, so cost is a big deciding factor in what units I use. With pikes I find the cheaper the better. This has several advantages, one of which being that it saves a lot of money for cavalry and other upgrades but doesn't sacrifice the quality of your troops. Elite pikes are better than pike militia of course, but if you use the double line method the difference isn't so big.
On Cost-Effective Unique Pikemen: Consisting of professional soldiers, these are traditionally deployed directly in front of pike militia to take advantage of their superior morale and survivability.
So, in short, the pikemen I use and find to be cost effective are Flemmish pikemen, highland pikemen, Tericos/Lanskenckt (the same), pike militia, scots pike militia, and regular pikemen.
On Elite Pikemen: While extremely powerful, elite pikemen such as the Aventuros carry a hefty price tag and are substitutable for the cheaper professional variants identified above. In campaign games where cost is not a factor, elite pikemen can be used to great effect, but should be considered “soldiers of luxury”.
I don't generally use Aventuros, Swiss pikemen, or the Armored scottish pikemen. These are in fact the best pikemen in the game, but I just don't find them to be cost effective in 10k multiplayer games
On Spear Wall: Generally, spear wall should be switched on at all times. The exception to this rule occurs when battlefield conditions demand immediate battlefield redeployment:
Even though pikes walk pretty fast in spear wall, I'd switch it off if you really need to run. Sometimes if I'm charging a fortified position will switch off spearwall and run them until I'm almost on top of them and then switch it back on and attack. It's good if you want to close and not get hit by too many arrows.
On Guard Mode: Unlike other units, toggling guard mode on and off severely changes the behavior of pikemen formations. When switched on, guard mode forces pikemen to brace in a defensive manner, primarily to intercept cavalry charges and fix enemy units in place. While pikemen in guard mode will cause little or no casualties to the enemies they pin in place, they will likewise take fewer casualties and can be used in conjunction with cavalry to perform hammer-and-anvil maneuvers, or to hold enemy units in place for a pointblank volley of gunpowder (which is discussed in the Pike-and-Shot segment of the guide).
However, be warned that pikemen in guard mode tend to draw their swords when engaged in melee combat:
First of all, since we're talking about their offensive usage, you'll want spear wall on and guard mode off. Guard mode is what makes them go into "brace" formation, but it also causes them to move more slowly and they pretty much drop their pikes right away in melee.
Guard mode, therefore, should be switched off when using pikemen to engage enemy units offensively, and switched on when defense is the name of the game.
Final Notes: The Pike Square can form the core of an extremely flexible Renaissance military, capable of both offensive and defensive use against personnel and cavalry when utilized effectively. Additional variants on the pike square involve technological advancements of late period European armies, and are discussed below.
https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Exequy/alatriste6.jpg